1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk drive suspension with a damping material and a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disk drive suspension is used in a hard disk drive (HDD) for recording and reproducing data to and from a rotating disk.
The disk drive suspension comprises a load beam, flexure, etc. The load beam is fixed to a carriage through a baseplate. The flexure is superposed on the load beam. A slider is mounted on a tongue portion formed on the flexure. A reading or writing element (transducer) is disposed on the slider. In some cases, a springy hinge member may be provided between the baseplate and load beam.
A damper, such as the one disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-91909, is used to improve the resonance and other dynamic properties of the suspension. The damper has a laminated structure consisting of a viscoelastic body and a constraint plate of a metal or the like. The damper is affixed to a flat surface, e.g., the central part of the suspension.
In affixing the damper to, for example, the load beam, the viscoelastic body of the damper is pressed against a surface of the load beam. Thereupon, the damper is fixed to the load beam by the adhesion of the viscoelastic body. Since the load beam is a very thin member, however, it may sometimes be deformed by a force with which the damper is affixed to it.
The static properties and the resonance and other dynamic properties of the suspension change if the load beam is deformed. Consequently, the static and dynamic properties of the manufactured suspension vary inevitably.
Since the damper is affixed to the load beam relative to its thickness, moreover, the thickness of the damper is added to that of the load beam. Therefore, the thickness of the entire suspension is increased, and in addition, the weight of the suspension is inevitably increased by the mass of the damper. Further, high positioning accuracy is required in order to affix the damper in a predetermined position on the suspension. Thus, affixing the damper to the suspension requires use of a special affixing machine that ensures high positioning accuracy.